Automatic coupling device.



W. RACHALS.

AUTOMA'HC COUPLING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY24. I915.-

1,155,006. PafientedSept. 28, 1915.

COLUMBIA PLANDORAPH co.. WASHINGTON, n. c.

WA 'rERfRnoHALs, or YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO.

.Toallwhom mag/concern:

Bev it known that I, WALTER RAGHALS,

ffcitizen of the United States, residing at Youngstownjin the countyl of .Mahoning and State of Ohio, have invented certainnewf and useful Improvements in Automatic Cou pling Devices, of which }following a specification. y

This invention relates in igeneral to car couplingdevices,and more particularly to a novel'automatic coupling especially adapted for use in connection with'fiat cars gener-,

ally employed to transport I metal in various forms around industrial plants...

To, this end,..the present ,inventionlcom templates a coupling device'which isbuilt in the car body in such a manner that all of its operative parts are arranged and conotherwise be possible. This arrangement has the distinct advantage of locating all of cealed within thefhousing formed: thereby,

,fig'u'res ofthe drawings.

Referring to the embodiment of the inl p AUTOMATIC COUPLING-DEVICE.

e Specification o f Letters Patent. Patented Sept. 28, 1915. Application fiie ivra @1915. Serial No. 30,183.

- Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several vention illustrated in the drawings, it will be notedthat the referenceC designates the I car body in itsentirety, and which essentially include a platform 1, the opposite de pending side wall members 2, and the roundj ed end portions orwalls 3, thus providinga car body of; substantially inverted box-like form,which nayreadily be made in asingle casting. This type of car body,.therefore,

presents a hollow interior which constitutes ahousing for the entire running gear of the 'car,. ;]"which" primarily includes the: usual wheels to and axles a mounted in journal boxes 4' slidably arranged in the usual recesses of the sidewalls 2. 1

p As indicated, the invention proposes to utilizethehollow interior of the carbody to conceal and house the automatic coupling construction forming the subject of the presthus presenting no projecting or -protruding parts, and permitting. of a stronger and more substantial construction than would the parts of the coupler permanently lassociated with the car entirely. out. of the way,

and protects the same from'theweather and accidental blows orknocksthat might damage the .same. i

Another object of the invention to pro- 7 vide 'a simple and." practical construction that is thoroughly reliable, easy and con venient cooperate, and' which maybe eco nomically made and kept in repair. 35.

With the above and other object-sin view which will more readily appear as the nature of, the invention is 3 better understood, the sameconsists in the ;,novel*construction, combination and arrangement of parts here: inafter more fully described, illustrated and claimed.

By reference to the accompanying drawings it will be noted thatFigure 1 is a top cent fiat cars, one of which is shown. insec= fragmentary side elevation partly in section of a car embodying the present invention.

line 33 of Fig. 1.

curves. j 11 of the draw head. are provided with op posite concentric openings 12, which slidably ent invention. In this connection, it will be observedthat the body 1 may be formed at either oneor both of its ends 8 with an inset integral" centrally located draw head 5,

whose oppositesi'de walls 6. and 7 diverge outwardly to provide a'horizontal flared opening or mouth 8 which permits the necessarylateral movement forthe coupling link i 9 when the cars are negotiating turns or I The upperand lower walls 10 and receive arelatively stout couplingpin'13. This'coupling pin 13 is beveled at its lower end as at; 14 to facilitate its properengagement'with the couplinglink 9 which also has beveled ends, while theuppe'r end 15 of the pin freely slides in the opening 16 of an inset guide flangel'? formed integral with the end wall 3 of the car body, and spaced plan View of the end portions .oftwo adjaiflbOYG'lZhB upper wall 11 of the draw head 5.

-Accordingly, it will beapparent that the coupling pin 13 has a vertica-lslidingmovement in the draw head 5 and guideflange 17,

and operatesby gravity to automatically 7 permit its beveled end 1 1 to, ride over the 50 Fig. 3 is a transversezsectional view on the? beveled. end of thecoupl1ngl1nk9 when the V i letter is inserted in the draw head, so that lifting levers 20, These lifting levers are, jmounted on pivot pins 21 journaled 1n the. pivot bosses 22 whichproject inwardly from the end 3 of the car body. (Each of the lifting levers 20 is provided with a hand grip or handle '23 located adjacent openings 24 in the opposite side wall members 2 of the car body," so that when it; is desired to effect a an uncoupling operation, it is onlynecessary v for an operator'to lnsert his 'handorimplementwithin the opening 24 on either side of the car and push down on the handle 23, r r

a hollow flanged car body having a draw thus turning the lever 20 on the, pivot 21 and lifting the coupling pin 13 clear'and free of its engagement with the coupling link ,Accordingly, it will be apparent that thls novel arrangement of levers makes the. un-

coupling of the device'an easy and'conven'j i'en't' matter, the, operation. being permltted'j from. either side of the car,and in case it is impossible to operate jthelevers by hand, the

' {handle portions 23 thereof are so construct- I ed that an ordinary piece of pipe section may be slipped onto the same to obtain a greater leverage. 1 Y I In addition to constituting the lifting means for the coupling pin 13, the levers 20; 1 also constitute means for holding the coupling pin in position, That is to say, as the ends 19 of the levers are loosely held within the slot 1810f the coupling pin, they prevent the latter from falling out under ordinary" conditions. However, this feature may be of importance in assembling or taking apart the construction for repair purposes, since the levers 20 may be dismounted by removing the pi'votpins 21, and then the coupling pin 13 will "readily fall out through the openings 12' in the draw head, or conversely maybe readily inserted in working position by this same operation "From the foregoing description, it isthought that the many features and advantages of the'present invention will be readily apparent, and that minor changes in the details of construction "may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or scope of the appended claims.

I claim: r 1. An automatic coupling device including a flanged car body having a draw head housed'inside of the flanged body and projecting' inwardly from an end wall thereof, a coupling pin element working in the head, and lever means for operating said coupling pin element from the side of the car body.

2. An automatic coupling device including a flanged carbody havin a draw head formed in an end thereof and provided with side openings, a coupling pin element associated with said draw head, and means for operating saidcoupling pin element in the head, and oppositely located levers connecting at a -cominon point with the coupling pin, and operable fromeither side of the car body. 7 f

" 4:. An automatic coupling device including head formed therein, guide means adjacent to said draw head, a coupling "link, a vertically slidable pin for automatically engaging said coupling link, and oppositely arranged manually controlled levers engaging with said pin for lifting the same injthe draw head and guide. i

' 5. An'automatlc,couplingdevice including 'a flanged car body having a draw head housed inside of the'flanged body and pro- ,jectinginwardly from an end wallthereof,

guide means. also formed from anendwall fof the car body adjacent the draw head, a

coupling pin vertically Islidable in the draw head and guide means, and coupling pin operating means carried by and housed within the car body, and operable from either side thereof v V I a 6; An automaticcoupling device including a flanged car body having fa draw -head formed therein, "an integral guideyflange;

spaced fromrand arranged 'abovesaid draw head,'a coupling link, a 'couplingpin slidable in said draw head and guide flange, and

adapted to engage said coupling link, and

manually controlled "oppositely arranged lever devices engaging with said kcoupling pin and operable from either sideof the car body. 7 V w a r 7. An automatic coupling device including a 'car body having a draw head formed therein, a guide'flange adjacent said draw head, a coupling pin slidable in said draw head and guide-flange and having 'abeveled 1 end anda slot, and 'releasing levers pivoted to the car body on opposite sides of the couplingpin an engaging within the slot thereof; f V 8. An automatic coupling device'including a car body having side portions provided with openings and end portions formed with a draw head, an integral guide flange spaced i above each draw head, a. slotted coupling pin vertically slidable in said draw head and the openings in the side Walls of the car guide flange, pivot bosses projecting inbody. -10 Wardly from the end of the car body and In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my disposed on opposite sides of the coupling signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

pin, pin lifting levers pivoted on said pivot WALTER RACHALS. bosses and having their inner ends arranged" l/Vitnesses:

in the slot of said coupling pin, said levers FRED VVOODFORD,

also having handle portions exposed through W. L. KAUTFMAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for'five, cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. G. 

